Photo by Daniel S. Burnstein
APPARENTLY, IN-THE-KNOW drinkers are calling Los Feliz “the tequila mansion.” This multi-level spot offers three distinct bars. At street level, you’ll find a trendy restaurant with a hopping scene while the subterranean spaces both invoke an air of mischief. The first floor down lets you enjoy some tacos and jalapeño margaritas in what can best be described as a tequila cave.
If Los Feliz is a tequila mansion, the basement is its grotto. The space opens at 10 every night and comes equipped with DJs and club-style leather banquettes. Although the design is decadent and the drinks are strong, something is missing at Los Feliz.With this space and bars like Phil Ward’s East Village tequila bastion Mayahuel, tequila’s reputation is certainly on the rise around New York. And while all the new agave cocktails are a welcome addition to the local bar scene, it’s important that this spirit doesn’t stray too far from its roots—and those roots are filled with grit.
Tequila, regardless of the current craze, is still a drinker’s drink. Picture taking a swig straight out of the bottle on a blazing hot day; as a tiny bit dribbles down your chin, it washes away the dusty sand of the desert.
Los Feliz is from the folks behind Spitzer’s Corner. Judging by the way bars like Spitzer’s have white washed character out of the neighborhood, the owners can use help in the grit department. Here, they try to capitalize on the coarse character traits of the spirit. The tabletops are artfully distressed and the second level dining room does its best to look like a rustic cavern. The designers have done a great job, but how gritty can this tequila den be when you’re sipping an El Mayor on the rocks while sitting next to a Bethany Frankel look alike? Yes, a few sips of the liquor transport you to the desert, but anorexic arms kind of ruin the illusion.
There is one factor that really helps the bar feel genuine: the tequila. It’s hard to complain about the crowd when you’re enjoying your second smoky Mezcal on the rocks. $9 for a pour is reasonable, especially when there is a dead scorpion at the bottom of the bottle. Los Feliz offers a limited number of cocktails, but you’d be missing out if you didn’t drink the selections straight.
After a few more months of the crowds, and they do seem to be coming, Los Feliz will likely get over its authenticity issues. The place is fun, especially if you start at the top and work your way down. We tried a few glasses of scorpion laced Mezcal on the first floor, followed by a Corona or two at the bar in the dining room and finally descended into the tequila grotto. The space is sexy and the crowd is sexier. No, there wasn’t any dust dripping down our chin and yes, skinny arms was sitting across the room yapping away. But, this is the Lower East Side, not Mexico. Another glass on the rocks, some swaying to the music, and it was easy to say adios to Los Feliz’s shortcomings.
> Los Feliz
109 Ludlow St. (betw. Rivington & Delancey Sts.), 212-228-8383
